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BCTF: Why are teachers taking action now?

What do teachers want?
• Teachers have been striving for the restoration of class-size and composition guarantees. These were stripped from our contracts in 2002, and:
— this government action was found to be unconstitutional and illegal by the BC Supreme Court
— it eliminated $3.3 billion for education over the last decade.
• Teachers want a fair and negotiated agreement— not something imposed by government legislation.
• BC teachers salaries are now 9th in Canada, but government refuses to consider cost-of-living adjustments or any salary increases.
• Teachers have sacrificed salary increases in the past to gain improvements for students only to have these illegally removed in 2002.

We want to fix the damage
A decade of cuts have hurt your child’s education.
• 100,000 oversized classes in the last decade
• 12,000 classes with four or more students with special needs
• 1,500 fewer specialist teachers, including 700 fewer special education teachers since 2001